Samira Abbassy: An Autobiography & Other Confessions

XVA Gallery
is pleased to announce the solo exhibition of Iranian born, New York based,
artist Samira Abbassy. This is the first time Abbassy will exhibit her work in
the UAE. The exhibition will open with a reception for the artist on Saturday
February 7th, 2015, from 6-9pm. She will be available for interviews and tours
from the 5th - 9th February, 2015.

The
exhibition will consist of oil paintings on canvas or gesso panel, accompanied
by works on paper, from 2009-2014. Abbassy’s works are very process based,
exploring ideas of cultural identity as expressed through self-portraits and
re-interpreted stories of her homeland. Abbassy states ‘I use self-portraiture
as a way of examining and defining myself in a constantly shifting cultural
context. Although seemingly autobiographical, the figures are not me, but “the
archetypal self”. “The Self” is examined as a phenomenon which combines
autobiographical, cultural, psychic and chemical aspects, in which events/
narratives become incorporated into or cause dismemberment of the body.’